Rotary beater and pneumatic separator



Feb. 2, 1937. WALLACE 2,069,398

ROTARY BEATER AND PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 E- g], a; l /0 15 46 a 09 h 33 7a I I 9! 2 i I i I 4 7 68 /NVENTOR Virus? 7 y z EYS Feb. 2, 1937. J. J. WALLACE ROTARY BEATER AND PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1933 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 M 4 Fl... w m z v r i a M 4 W 2 M L M 4 a 4 L 6 a r w 0 9 /NVE/YTOR Feb 2,1937. J, ,WA E 2,069,398-

ROTARY BEATER AND PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR Fil 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 WI'TNe'ss Mr I M TTORNEYS Feb. 2, 1937. J. J. WALLACE ROTARY BEATER AND PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 /IYYEIITOR WI runs do rating chamber.

Patented Feb. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY BEATER AND PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR John J. Wallace, Gouverneur, N. Y.

Application January 11, 1933, Serial I-"o. 651,137. 9 Claims. (Cl. 83-11 This invention relates to new and useful improvements in pneumatic separators for use in connection with grinding mills ,of various types 15 rials such as .silica sand which may be contained in the ground talc. After this ground material.

has been passed through conventional separators now in general use, there is approximately ninety per cent of the material in the proper degree of fineness to be lSeable in the manufacture of other articles, such as paper, paint, etc. This means that about ten per cent of the ground talc has to be again passed through the grinding mills where, at the most, only a small per cent of the re-ground talc is rendered fine enough to meet the requirements.

The main object of this invention is to produce an improved separator which will not only be very efficient in removing foreign materials from talc, asbestine or similar materials, but which will,.at the same time, pulverize such materials during the separating process to such an extent that a much larger percentage of the ground materials will be available for use in the manu- 35 facture of other articles and thereby efiect a saving in material at a minimum of expense.

.Another object is to product a machine of the above-mentioned class which is compact, durable and economical in construction and which is sim- 40 ple and easy to operate.

In carrying out the above-mentioned objects, I have produced a separator, preferably having a separator fan or beater in the separating chamber, arrangedbelow the material inlet .to the chamber in such a manner that the heavier and coarser particles of the 'materialbeing treated will necessarily come into contact withthe separator fan or heater as they gravitate downwardly past the fan toward the lower end of the sepa- These relatively coarse particles are thus acted upon by the fan and broken up or. pulverized to such an extent that instead of ninety per cent of the material being of the required degree of fineness as it comes from the 5 separator, as is the case when using the conventional separators now on the market, as high as ninety-nine and a half per cent of the material ieaving the separator is of the required degree of fineness to be suitable for use in the manufacture of various articles for which the 6 material is adapted.

A further object is to produce an apparatus of the above-mentioned class that is particularly adapted to operate in conjunction with a dust collecting apparatus.

'10 Other objects and advantages relating to the details of the structure of the separator and dust collector, and the form and relation of the parts thereof, will more fully appear from :the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side view 01 an apparatus embodying the various features of this invention,

with certain portions broken away to more clear- 1y disclose the inner construction thereof.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the upper end of my novel separator, taken in the planeof the line 2-2, Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical central sectional view of my separator taken in the plane of the line 3-3, Figure 2 Figure '4 is a horizontal sectional view through the separator chamber taken onthe line 4-4,

' Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 55, Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken through the inlet opening of an auxiliary separator which I use in connection with my novel separator taken substantially on the line 6-45, Figure 1.

Figure '7 is a horizontal sectional-view-taken through the intermediate portion of a dust collector which I also use in connection with my novel separator and taken substantially in the 40 plane of the line '|-l, Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a detail horizontal sectional view through the outlet valve for the dust collector taken in the plane of the line 88, Figure 1.

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken in 5 the plane of the line 99, Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a central vertical sectionalview similar to Figure 3, illustrating a modified form of my novel separator.

Figures 11 and I! are detail horizontal secand pulverizer I, an auxiliary separator 2 and a dust collector 3, all of which may be arranged in any convenient spaced relation and connected by suitable pipes or conduits, as illustrated more clearly in Figure 1 and which will hereinafter be more fully described.

The separator 1 consists of a relatively flat cylindrical housing 5 mounted upon the upper end of a substantially rectangular frame 6. The housing 5 has secured to the bottom wall thereof, a pendant cylindrical case 1 which has the upper end thereof provided with a conicalshaped cap 8 which extends upwardly into the chamber 9 within the housing 5. The lower end of the case 1 is closed by .a wall 18 which has centrally secured thereto, a pendant cylindrical wall I I which forms an inlet chamber 12 in communication with the interior of the case 1 and which has secured to one side thereof, an inlet pipe or conduit 13 adapted to admit air to the chamber 12 and interior of the case 1.

A vertically disposed supporting shaft 15 extends upwardly through the chamber 12 into the lower end of the cylindrical case 1. The-lower end of the shaft I5 is mounted in a bearing member 16 secured to a horizontal cross bar 11 provided on theframe 6 a short distance below the wall I I. Rotatably mounted upon the supporting shaft 15 is a tubular shaft [8 which has the lower end thereof journaled in the bearing member 16 and extends upwardly through the bottom wall of the chamber I2 into said chamber, with the upper end thereof journaled in a bearing member 19 centrally secured in.the chamber 12 by means of arms 20 which have the outer ends thereof secured to the adjacent portion of the wall ll.

The upper end of the tubular shaft 18 extends a short distance above the chamber 12 into the lower end of the case 1 and has secured {thereto a sweep 22 which, in this instance, consists of a pair of arms 23 secured to a supporting hub 24 which, in turn, is seemed to the upper end of the tubular shaft 18. The arms 23 radiate from substantially diametrically opposite sides of the hub 24 and extend over the bottom wall 10 of the case 1 in slightly spaced relation thereto and adapted, when rotated, to sweep any material which may gather upon the wall 18 outwardly through an opening 26 provided in the bottom wall 10 near the outer edge thereof. This opening 26 is provided with a chute 21 which is secured to the underside of the wall l0 and adapted to convey material passing through said opening into a conduit or conveyor 28 adapted to convey the material entering therein to any desired place, such as a grinding mill (not shown) and for a purpose which will hereinafter be more fully understood.

Any suitable means may be provided for rotating the shaft I8 and sweep 22 such as a horizontally disposed shaft 30 positioned at one side of the tubular shaft 18 and which, in this instance, is iournaled near its ends in suitable bearing members 31 and 32 secured to the bearing member 16 and supporting bar [1 respectively. The V inner end of the shaft 36 terminates a short distance from the shaft l8 and is provided with'a beveled gear 33 which is in meshingengagement with a similar gear 34 secured to the shaft 16 intermediate the bearing member l6 and wall 11. The outer end of the shaft 38 may be provided with any suitable means such as a sprocket 35 adapted to be connected by 'a chain or belt with a driving motor (not shown).

router ends of respective arms 51.

aoeasos The upper end of the supporting shaft l5 extends a short distance above the tubular shaft 18 and has secured thereto a tubular supporting member 36 which rotatably supports the lower end of a vertically disposed drive shaft 31 which 5 extends upwardly through the case 1 and housing 5 into a suitable gear case 38 which is mounted upon a pair of horizontallydisposed bars 39 secured to the upper-end of the housing 5. The upper end-of the shaft 31 is journaled in the case 38 as at 40 and has secured thereto a beveled gear 41 which is in meshing engagement with a similar gear 42 secured upon the inner end of a horizontally disposed shaft 43 which has one end thereof journaled in the case 38 as at 44, while the other end of the shaft 43 is journaled in a bracket 45 secured to the supporting members 39.

A pulley 46 is secured to the shaft 43 intermediate the bracket 45 and the case 38, and is adapted to be connected by a belt or other suit- 2 able means to a motor (not shown) adapted to drive the shaft-43 and through the gears 41 and 42 to produce rotary'movement of the shaft 31. The lower end of the shaft 31 may be, as shown, spaced from the upper end of the supporting shaft 2 15 by means of a steel ball 48 which rests upon the upper end of the shaft 15 and permits relative movement of said shafts with a minimum amount of friction.

The interiorof the case I is provided with an annular partition or wall 50 positioned a short distance above the sweep 22 and which divides the interior of the case 1 into a collecting chamber 51 at the lower end of the case and a separating chamber 52 located in the upper portion of 3d the case.

The inner opening as 50' of the wall 50 is of substantially the same diameter as the inlet chamber 12 to permit free circulation of air from the inlet chamber 12 upwardly through the 4 collecting chamber 5| into the separating chamber 52. A baffle plate as 53 may, as shown, be secured to the upper portion of the bearing member 19 near the upper end of the chamber 12. This plate 53 is somewhat smaller in di- 4 ameter'than the inlet chamber so as to disperse to a certain degree, the air as it leaves the inlet chamber I2 and flows upwardly through the collecting chamber 51 into the separating chamber 52. 5

Within the separating chamber 52 is positioned a separating fan or heater 55 which, in this instance, consists of three vertically spaced hub members 56 secured to the drive shaft 31 intermediate the wall 50 and the upper end of the 5.

case 1. Each of the hubs 56 has secured thereto, a plurality of, in this instance six, horizontally disposed arms 51 which extend radially from the respective hub 56 in equal circumferential spaced relation. Each set of arms 51 gradually decreases 6 in length from the lowermost set to the upper- "most for supporting a plurality of, in this instance six, blades 58 which are secured to the The blades 58 extend upwardly from within a relatively 6 short distance of the wall 50 to within a short distance ofthe upper end of the cap 8, The outer lower edges of the blades 58 terminate a relatively short distance from the side wall o the chamber 52, while the outer vertical edges 7 of said blades taper upwardly in diverging planes from the lower ends thereof so that the upper ends of the blades are spaced a considerable distance from the adjacent portion of the side wall of said chamber to form a substantially conicalseparator.

shaped heater or fan in general outline. The lower ends of each blade also extend inwardly to within a short distance of the opening 58' in the wall 58 and are curved forwardly, as shown more particularly in Figure 4, to form sweep arms 58' adapted, during the rotation of thebeater, to urge any material collecting upon the upper surface of the wall 58, outwardly towards the side wall of the chamber 52 and to cause said material to pass from the chamber 52 into the collecting chamber 5I through a plurality of circular openings 59 provided in the wall 59 and also through a pair of elongated slots 68 provided in said wall at diametrically opposite sides thereof intermediate the openings 59.

The upper end of the cap 8 is provided with a horizontally disposed substantially fiat annular ring or wall 62 which has a pendent centrally located annular wall 63 which extends downwardly a short distance into the separating chamber 52 and is adapted to receive therein the upper ends of the beater blades 58. The inner chamber as 63' of the wall 63 is in communicationwith the opening 62' of the wall 62 so as to form a convenient passage from the chamber 52 into the chamber 9 of the housing 5 for the exit of the air and fine materials passing from the chamber 52. Within the chamber 9 is positioned an exhaust fan 65 secured to the shaft 31 to be rotated thereby in unison with the beater 55.

The housing 5 is provided with a tangential outlet opening 61 which is in communication with a pipeor conduit 88 having one end secured to said housing and the other end thereof secured to the supplemental separator 2 in communication with a tangentially arranged inlet opening 69 provided in the upper end of said The exhaust fan 65, in this instance, is of somewhat less diameter than the exhaust chamber 9 and consists of a plurality of, in this instance six, radially disposed arms I8, each having secured to the outer end thereof a paddle II arranged edgewise vertically and adapted to draw air upwardly through the-cylindrical case I into the exhaust chamber 9 and to force said air outwardly through the outlet 61 of the chamber and conduit 68 into the separator 2.

The separator I is also provided with an inlet conduit I3 which extends inwardly in a horizontal plane through the housing 5 with the inner end thereof secured in the adjacent portion of the cap 8 in communication with the separating chamber 52. The outer end of the conduit 13 is closed by a head 14 secured in any convenient manner to the conduit. A screw conveyor I5 is positioned within the conduit I3 and has the drive shaft 16 thereof extended outwardly through the head 14 in which it is journaled and has secured to the outer end thereof a sprocket 1'! or its equivalent which is adapted to be driven from'any suitable source of power, (not shown). An upright feed pipe I8 is secured to the outer end of the conduit I3 in communication with the interior of saidconduit and is adapted to be connected in any suitable manner with the grinding mills for conveying the material to the interior of the conduit I3.

The separator 2, in this instance, consists of a vertically disposed cylindrical case 88 mounted upon a stand 8|. The bottom 82 of the case 88 is disposed in substantially a horizontal plane and has extending centrally therethrough a shaft 83 which has the lower end journaled in a bearinstance five, blades II6.- These blades are of substantially the same width as the interior of ing support 84. To the upper end of the shaft 83 is secured a sweep 85 composed of a hub 86 mounted on the shaft and a plurality of, in this instance six, arms 81 which extend from the hub riphery thereof and discharge the same through an opening 88 provided in the bottom near the outer edge thereof.

A chute 89 is secured to the underside of the bottom 82 adjacent the opening 89 and is adapted to convey the material passing through said open- .ing to a suitable conveyor 98 adapted to continuously move the material to some remote place, or the chute 89 may deposit the material into a suitable receptacle placed below the chute.

The upper end of the case 89 is closed by a conical wall 9I which has centrally secured thereto an air discharge pipe 92. This pipe extends into the interior of the case 88 to some distance below the inlet 69, while the upper end of the pipe is connected by a conduit 93 with the upper end of the dust collector 9. The intake pipe I3 for the separator i has the outer end thereof connected with the outer end portion of the air discharge pipe 92 so that air drawn into the interior of the case 'I by the action of the exhaust fan 65, will be taken from the interior of the air discharge pipe 92.

Any suitable means may be employed for driving the'sweep 85, and for that purpose I have shown a horizontal shaft 95 journaled'at one end in a bracket 96 secured to the bearing member 84 and at the outer end in a standard 9'5. The inner end of the shaft 95 has secured thereto a beveled gear 98 which is in meshing engagement with a similar gear 99 secured to the shaft 83. The outer end of the shaft 95 is provided with a sprocket or pulley I88 adapted to be driven from any suitable source of power, (not shown).

The dust collector 3, in this instance, consists of a pyramidal head and bottom I82 and I83 respectively, arranged in vertical spaced relation upon an upright frame I84 to which these members are secured in any suitable manner. The head I82 is provided with an inner chamber I86 which is connected with the conduit 93 leading from the separator 2 by means of an elbow I81 connected at one end to the conduit 93 and having the other end thereof connected to the head I82. at the vertex thereof. The bottom I83 is similar in construction to the head I82 except i that it is arranged in reverse position.

The base walls, as I88, of both the head I82 and bottom I83 are provided with a plurality of, in this instance nine, aligned openings I89 which are connected by respective fabric tubes II8 secured at their ends in any well-known manner to the base members I88 so as to provide direct 'communication'between the interior of the head and the interior of the bottom I89.

of the con'duit',II2.. One end of the shaft II4 extends beyond the adjacent wall and has secured theretoa crank arm II5 by means of which the valve may be manually rotated.

The valve II3 consists of a plurality of, in this the conduit I I2, and the length of the blades is such that the outer ends thereof will have an easy sliding flt in the conduit to permit the valve to be readily rotated, and at the same time, to prevent the material from passing between the edges of the blades and the wall of the conduit so that material contained within the bottom member I03 may pass from said bottom member only upon rotation of the valve II3.

Operation When the separator I is in operation, the shaft 31 and, therefore, the beater fan 55 and the exhaust fan 85 are driven at a relatively high speed, which is approximately six hundred revolutions per minute, while the tubular shaft I8 and the sweep 22 are driven at a much lower rate of speed, say sixty-five revolutions per minute.

It is now obvious that the exhaust fan 65, while being rotated at the above-mentioned speed, will draw air from the conduit I3 upwardly through the chambers I2, 5|, and 52 into the exhaust chamber 9 and force said air outwardly through the opening 61 and conduit 58 into the separator 2.

It will now be seen that when ground material,-

said material will immediately come under the influence of the air within the chamber which is being agitated by the rapid rotation of the beater fan 55. The finer particles of the in-fed material are picked up by the circulating air within the chamber 52 and will be eventually carried to the interior of said chamber and the beater fan 55 to be carried upwardly by the current produced by the exhaust fan 85 through the openings 53' and 82" provided at the upper end of the case I into the exhaust chamber 9, while the coarser or heavier particles of the in-fed material will be thrown centrifugally to the periphery of the chamber 52 where they may gravitate toward the bottom wall 50 of the chamber. As these particles move downwardly, they will sooner or later come into violent contact with the lower portion of the fan blades 58 due to the close proximity of the lower ends of these blades with the wall of the chamber. As these heavier particles are buffeted about by the blades 58, the larger particles of the tale will be broken and disintegrated to such an extent that they will be picked up by the current of air in the chamber 52 and eventually be carried upwardly by the current of air produced by the fan 65 into the exhaust chamber 0, while the larger particles of foreign material, such as silica sand, will not be broken by the blades owing to the more tenacious nature thereof, and will eventually reach the bottom wall 58 of the chamber 52 where they will be swept toward the peripheral wall of the chamber by the action of the arms 58' where these particles may escape through the openings 59 and slots 50 into the collecting chamber 5I. As these particles settle to the bottom III of the collecting chamber, they will again be moved outwardly by the action of the sweep 22 toward the periphery of said chamber and eventually be deposited through the opening 28 into the chute 21 and thence to the conveyor 28 which is adapted to return these coarser particles to the grinding mills where they may again be operated upon by said mills. w

The air carrying fine particles of the in-fed material is forced by the exhaust fan 65 from the exhaust chamber 9 through the conduit 68 to the separator 2 wherein a greater portion of the material will fall by gravity to the bottom of the case 80, while the air and the remaining portion of the material dust will pass upwardly through the air discharge pipe 92. A greater portion of this air is drawn from the pipe 92 through the conduit I3 into the intake chamber I2 of the separator I and thence back to the interior of the separator where it is again drawn by the action of the exhaust fan 65 through the central portion of the separating chamber 52 where the air again picks up the fine particles of the in-fed material and carries the same into the exhaust chamber 9 and then this dust-laden air is again driven by the exhaust fan 65 from the chamber 9 through the conduit 68 into the dust col- ,lector 2 where the dust separates from the air current and falls to the bottom of the separator at; be deposited by the sweep 85 into the chute Any of the air passing through the air discharge pipe 92 not drawn through the conduit I3 back into the separator I, will pass through the conduit 93 and elbow I01 into the chamber I06 of the head of the dust collector 3 and then through the openings I09 into the tubes IIO.'

The air will then pass through the fabric tubes IIO to atmosphere, while the dust will be retaind by the tubes and either collect on the inner wall of the tubes or fall through the tubes and openings I09 into the chamber of the bottom I03 where this dust may be drawn off as desired by the manipulation of the valve H3.

In Figures 10, 11, and 12 I have shown a moth-- fied form of my novel separator wherein the beater fan and the exhaust fan are adapted to be operated at a much higher rate of speed than in the structure shown in Figures 1 to 5 inelusive and which has just been described.

The structure, as shown more particularly in Figure 10, consists of a case I20 mounted on a supporting frame I2I. The case I20 includes a cylindrical intermediate separating chamber I22 and a cylindrical exhaust chamber I23 positioned above the separating chamber in spaced relation thereto and connected with the separatin chamber by a passageway I24 which is of less diameter than either that of the exhaust chamber I23 or the separating chamber I22. The case also includes a pendent intake chamber I25 positioned below the separating chamber I22 which is provided with an inlet I26 at one side thereof connected with the inlet conduit I3 which may have one end thereof connected with the air discharge pipe 92 of the supplemental separator 2, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The supporting shaft I 5' has the lower end thereof mounted in a bearing support I6 mounted on the bar I'I' secured to the frame I2I. This shaft extends upwardly through the bottom of the inlet chamber I25 and has rotatably mounted thereon the tubular shaft I8 which is journaled in the bearing member I6 at its lower end and has the upper end thereof terminating in the lower portion of the intake aoeasee chamber I25 and has mounted thereon a sweep 22' adapted to urge any material collecting on the bottom of the chamber I25 toward the periph ery thereof and discharge the same through an opening 26 formed in the bottom of the chamber I25 into a chute 21' which is adapted to deposit the material into the conveyor 20. The upper end of the supporting shaft I5 is journaled in a bearing member I9 which is centrally secured in the intake housing I25 by means of arms This bearing member I9 rotatably supports the lower end of the vertical drive shaft 31.

The drive shaft 37 is mounted concentrically with the chambers I22, I23, and I and extends upwardly through the chambers E22 and I23, and has the upper end thereof terminating a short distance above the chamber I23 and connected with the armature shaft I28 of a motor I29 mounted on the upper end of the case 52b.

The tubular shaft I9 and sweep 22 may be driven in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 3 for the shaft I8 and which consists of a horizontally disposed shaft 30 mounted in bearings 3i and 32' and-which has secured to the inner end thereof, a gear 33' meshing with the gear 34 secured to the shaft I8. The outer end of the shaft 30' is provided with a sprocket or pulley 35' which is adapted to be actuated in any suitable manner by any convenient source of power for rotating said shaft.

The shaft 31 has secured to the lower end portion thereof a bafile plate or disk 53 which is positioned within the inlet chamber I25 intermediate with, the intake opening I26 and the chamber I22 so that air entering the chamber I22 through the chamber I25 will be deflected outwardly towards the periphery of the chamber I25 Just prior to entering the separating chamber I22.

The shaft 31' has secured thereto a heater fan I30 positioned in the chamber I22 and which is of substantially the same diameter as the passageway I24. The fan, in this instance,

- consists of a hub I3 I- and a plurality of, in this instance six, radiating arms I32. Each of the arms I32 has secured to the outer end thereof a blade I33 which is arranged edgewise vertically, with the upper ends thereof in close proximity to the passageway I 24.

Within the exhaust chamber I23 is positioned an exhaust fan I35 which is of greater diameter than the beater fan I30 and consists of a hub I36 secured to the shaft 31' and a plurality of, in this instance six, radially disposed blades I31 secured in the hub I36 in equal circumferential spaced relation. The exhaust chamber "I23 has an outlet opening I38 which extends tangentially to one side of the chamber and is in communication with one end of the conduit 68 which may have the other end thereof connected with the supplemental separator 2, in the manner illustrated in Figure 1.

The intake conduit I3, in this instance, is positioned above the separating chamber I22 and has the outlet end thereof in communication with the passageway I24 so'that material deposited in the passageway I24 by the action of the screw conveyor I5 will come directly in contact with the current of air caused to pass upwardly through the passageway I24 by the action of the exhaust fan I35 so that the finer and lighter particles of the material will be carried directly into the ex-' haust chamber I23. The heavier particles of the material will fall downwardly and be engaged by the blade I33 of the beater fan I30. This action 'of the fan I30 upon the coarser particles of the material will break up and disintegrate the coarser particles of the major material, such as talc which it is desired to purify so that said material will be picked up by the current of air passing upwardly through the passageway I24 and be carried into the exhaust chamber I23, while the particles of foreign material, such as silica sand, will not be affected by the action of the fandue to their more tenacious nature and will gravitate toward the bottom of the intake chamber I25 where'they will be swept outwardly through the chute 21' by the action of the sweep 22 and be returned to the grinding mills by the conveyor 28.

The dust-laden ai-r entering the exhaust chamber I23 through the passageway I23 will be forced outwardly through the outlet I 38 by the action of the exhaust fan I35 and will pass through the conduit 60 to the supplemental separator 2 where the particles of material will be separated from the air in the same manner as described for the apparatus shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

It will now be observed that in both the constructions, as shown more clearlyin Figures 3 and 10, the material is deposited in each instance into the separating chamber above the beatin and separating fan in such a manner that the coarser materials gravitating toward the bottom of the. chamber will come into contact with the blades of the respective beater so that said blades will disintegrate these particles to such an extent that a very high percentage of the material fed to the separating chamber to be purified, will be discharged from the exhaust chamber to be separated from the air in the supplemental separator 2 or other suitable means.

Although I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown, as various changes in the size, form and relation of the parts thereof may readily be made, without departing from the spirit of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A separator of the class described including a separating chamber having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, means associated with one of said openings for producing a current of air through the separating chamber adapted to carry fine material from the chamber, a vertically disposed separating fan rotatably mounted in said chamber, the blades of said fan having their lower outer edges terminating in close proximity to the side wall of said chamber and their outer edges tapered upwardly in diverging planes, and coriveying means adapted todeposit ground material into the chamber over said tapered portion of the fan so that heavier particles of the material not carried by the current of air in precipitating through the chamber, will come into contact with said separating means, be disintegrated thereby and then carried from the chamber by said current of air.

2. A separator of the class described including a separating chamber having an inlet opening and outlet opening, means associated with one of said openings for producing a current of air through the separating chamber adapted to carry fine material from the chamber, a vertically disposed separating fan rotatably mounted in said chamber, the blades of said fan having their lower ends provided with sweep arms adapted to urge any particles of material collecting on the bottom of the chamber toward the peripheral edge thereof, and conveying means adapted to deposit ground material into the separating chamber adjacent the upper portion of the fan so that heavier particles of the material not carried by the current of air in precipitating through the chamber, will come into contact with said separating means, be disintegrated thereby and then carried from the chamber by said current of air.

3. A separator of the class described including a separating chamber having the lower and upper walls thereof provided with a central inlet opening and outlet opening respectively, said lower wall being provided with a material outlet adjacent the periphery thereof, means associated with one of said openings for producing a current of air through the separating chamber adapted to carry fine materials from the chamber, a vertically disposed separating fan rotatably mounted in said chamber, said fan being provided with sweep arms adapted to urge any particles of material collecting on'the bottom of the chamber toward the peripheral edge of said chamber and deposit the same through the material outlet, conveying means adapted to deposit ground material into the separating chamber adjacent the upper portion of the fan so that heavier particles of the material not carried by the current of air in precipitating through the chamber, will come into contact with said separating means, be disintegrated thereby and then carried from the chamber by said current of air.

4. A separator of the class described including a case having a collecting chamber and a separating chamber connected by an air opening, said collecting chamber being provided with an outlet opening for material, means for producing a current of air through said chambers, beater means rotatably mounted in the separating chamber, a sweep member rotatably mounted in the collecting chamber, conveying means adapted to deposit ground material into the separating chamber over said separating means, and means for rotating the beater and sweep at different speeds. i

5. A device for separating solid materials comprising in combination a separator chamber, conveying means for feedingground usable and foreign materials into said chamber, means for separating fine, usable particles of the incoming material from the coarser or heavier particles thereof and for carrying said fine particles from the chamber, said separating means including a disintegrator element within the chamber having vertically disposed blades arranged with their outer vertical edges extending from in close proximity to the side wall of the chamber upwardly in diverging planes and across the normal stream of the incoming material in passing through the chamber at an angle thereto whereby said heavier particles of material will come into contact with said blades in precipitating through the chamber and be disintegrated therey.

6. A separator of the class described, comprising in combination a collecting chamber having an inlet opening, an exhaust chamber having an outlet opening and a separating chamber, said chambers being arranged in co-axial relation with each other with the separating chamber positioned intermediate the collecting chamber and the exhaust chamber and connected with said latter chambers by passages of less eflective area than that of the respective chambers and arranged concentric therewith, an exhaust fan within the exhaust chamber for drawing air and materials from the inlet opening through the collecting and separating chambtrs and discharging the same out through the outlet opening, a disintegrator element within the separating chamber, feed means for depositing ground usable and foreign materials over the disintegrator element, power means for operating the exhaust fan and disintegrator element in unison at a relatively high rate of speed, and separate means for removing waste materials collected in the collecting chamber.

'7. A device as in claim 6 wherein the disintegrator element comprises blades arranged adjacent the passage connecting the separating chamber with the exhaust chamber in registration therewith and the feed means is connected with said passage.

8. A device as in claim 6 wherein the disingegrator element comprises a blade extending through the separating chamber in inclined relation to the axis thereof with one end thereof positioned adjacent the peripheral wall of the chamber and the other end arranged adjacent the passage connecting the separating chamber with the exhaust chamber in registration therewith.

9. A device as in claim 6 wherein the disintegrator element comprises a blade extending through the separating chamber in inclined relation to the axis thereof with one end thereof positioned in close proximity to the peripheral wall of the chamber and the other end arranged adjacent the passage connecting the separating chamber with the exhaust chamber in registration therewith, and the feed means is connected with the separating chamber in a position above and intermediate the ends of the blade of the I disintegrator element.

JOHN J. WALLACE. 

